Dysgraphia, dyslexia and ADHD: what the body has to do with it
When a child writes letters backwards, mixes them up, cannot stay on the line, reads slowly and with effort or cannot sit still over homework, the first thing they hear is that they are not trying hard enough. That is almost never true.
Writing and reading are complex skills built on a foundation: holding posture, coordinating eyes and hands, controlling the body automatically so that attention stays free for meaning. If the foundation takes effort, there is not enough resource left for the skill itself.
The role of reflexes. Early (primitive) reflexes are needed by an infant and should later integrate, giving way to voluntary movement. If that has not fully happened, it is harder for the child to hold posture at a desk, coordinate eye movements when reading and control the hand when writing. The body spends energy where it should be automatic. I studied this separately on a course about reflexes and higher nervous activity.
What I do. Through manual muscle testing I look at how neuromuscular regulation works, where there is tension and unintegrated reflexes. Then come gentle techniques and exercises that can be repeated at home. The aim is to remove bodily obstacles so that learning goes more easily.
What I do not do and do not promise. I do not diagnose dysgraphia, dyslexia or ADHD — that is done by relevant specialists. I do not replace sessions with a speech therapist or a neuropsychologist and do not cancel a neurologist's prescriptions. And I do not promise that after a few appointments the child will write without mistakes.
This is teamwork. The best result comes from the combination: the neurologist observes, the speech therapist and neuropsychologist work on the skill itself, and I work with the bodily foundation. When the body finds it easier, corrective sessions become more effective.
It makes sense to come if the child tires quickly from writing, complains about an uncomfortable hand, loses the line when reading, fidgets and cannot sit still, or if specialists are already working with them but progress is harder than expected.